


Midnight Snack

by Dreamshaper



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, and even more fluff, and hopefully a bit of humour, and pizza, another one which was supposed to be a one-shot lol, cause everybody loves pizza, college days, lots of fluff, young Erin and young Holtz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-10-05 15:04:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17327234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamshaper/pseuds/Dreamshaper
Summary: Erin Gilbert studies at Columbia during the day and delivers pizzas at night - and one delivery leads to a new friendship and perhaps more than that than she ever would have expected.





	1. First Run

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a one-shot, but developed a life of it's own XD Enjoy :D

“Gilbert, you’re up!” Erin’s boss called out, the pizza already packaged and waiting, “delivery to Columbia, chop chop!”

Erin made a face at that, not quite wanting to go there – people there did know that she was working as delivery girl for this pizza service when she wasn’t taking classes, but she didn’t exactly want to deliver them, knew better than to argue about it though, knowing that her boss wouldn’t understand her reservations about making a pizza delivery to where she was a student during the day.

“On it”, she thus just said, glad that it least, it wasn’t far; the day had been tiring, and her deliveries had been, too, and the last thing she needed now, at this hopefully last run of her shift, would be someone complaining at her about cold pizza.

She grabbed the box, then checked the address, relieved when she saw that it had been ordered to the engineering lab; she shoved the box into the bag her boss made her use, a garishly red thing with the restaurant’s logo on it, and froze when he called out to her again, seconds before she could have gotten out.

“And don’t forget the cap!” he hollered, and she cringed, then sighed, grabbing said cap and putting it on; it made her feel even more ridiculous than the bag did, and so, she walked fast to her little car, glad that at least, she didn’t need to ride a bike, not sure she would have made it to Columbia in a reasonable time even with how close the university was with how tired she felt.

At least, Erin thought to herself as she drove, she didn’t need to worry about not finding the engineering lab, knowing exactly where it was even though she never had reason to got here; before she had enrolled at Columbia, she had made a point of knowing where everything was, even parts of the university she’d never have to go to, and now, this paid off as she’d be able to deliver the pizza in record time.

Luckily, she also found a parking spot close to the lab building’s entrance quickly, most people having left for the day and giving her more than enough free space; before she got out of the car, Erin made sure her cap sat right, sighing to herself at how ridiculous it made her feel, then grabbed her bag and got out of the vehicle, making sure to hold the bright red bag perfectly straight as she walked.

She had made the mistake of holding it a bit tilted during one of her first deliveries, all the cheese had ended up migrating to one side, and the customer had complained, and Erin did not want to get yelled at by her boss again for such a rookie mistake.

Quickly, Erin found the right door, knocking and clearing her throat; and a few moments later, it opened, revealing a short blonde woman, younger than her, Erin could tell at once – but then, most students were younger than her – and eying her curiously, Erin unable to not look back the same way, not with the absurd way the woman was dressed.

Her hair was a wild crow’s nest on her head, Erin finding herself wondering how much hair spray was needed to keep it like that; she was wearing a pair of yellow steel-frame glasses, and fingerless leather gloves, a grey lab coat over an olive green crop top and pants stained with God knew what.

“You’re not a guy”, the woman stated matter-of-factly, and Erin blinked, not having an idea what this was about; the blonde didn’t bother to elaborate, and so, Erin cleared her throat again, then responded, not quite sure if she really wanted to know though.

“I’m sorry?” she still said, the blonde grinning at her oddly, a bit like the Cheshire cat, “w-what?”

“Your hat”, the woman replied, as if it was obvious, and Erin nearly groaned – because on her hat, not only was there a cartoonish pizza with pepperoni on it, but also the words “Pizza Guy”, printed in bold yellow, so that it would nicely clash with the red of the cap.

“Oh”, Erin let out, realizing that this was the first time someone had actually pointed this out, “yes, well. There’s no cap saying _pizza girl_. You ordered this then?”

She held her bag up, glad when the blonde nodded, with another toothy grin at her; still feeling odd at this encounter, Erin pulled the pizza box from the bag and handed it to the blonde, glancing at the bill taped to it as she did so.

“12,95 please”, she said, the blonde reaching into her pocket in response and pulling out a crumpled twenty dollar bill; she gave it to Erin and said “keep the change”, then shut the door before Erin had a chance to tell her that this was a bit much of a tip, the redhead standing there stunned for a moment – before she smiled to herself and went back to her car, this rather nice tip having made up quite well for the weirdness of the encounter and at least allowing her to end her shift on a good note.


	2. Burned

In the next morning, Erin got herself some coffee from the vending machine in the cafeteria right after arriving at the university, tired after her evening shift at the pizzeria – but at least, she thought to herself, she’d had the shift which and ended at midnight and not the one which started then, having done this night shift a few times before and having felt even more tired afterwards.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed some of the people she shared classes with talk among each other, then look her way as she stood at the vending machine and laugh; she felt her cheeks flush, knowing they were laughing at her, at the woman years older than them who had to deliver pizza after class so she could afford going to this place.

Once again, Erin found herself wondering how her life would have gone if she had kept her mouth shut and hadn’t told her parents the truth ten years ago; then, she pushed these thoughts aside and told herself that it couldn’t be changed and that she had to deal with this now, and that the best thing she could do about these people laughing at her was to ignore them.

At least, she thought to herself as she got her coffee from the machine and took a sip of it, they didn’t say anything to her directly, sparing her the humiliation of ending up speechless and blushing; still she made sure to walk away as fast as she could without spilling her coffee, and to the lecture hall, eager to hide among the other students there and focus on learning.

Thankfully, the people who had made fun of her didn’t sit nowhere near her when they came to the lecture hall as well a short while later; apparently, they also had lost interest in her for now, as they didn’t even look her way this time, and then, the professor entered, the lecture began, and Erin could focus on studying, forgetting all about the bullies and about how tired she was as she got lost in her fascination for physics, once more sure that she had made the right choice when she had enrolled, no matter how tiring and difficult it all could be.

* * *

Just like the previous day, Erin had the evening shift again – her boss was loud, and harsh sometimes, but at least, she knew, he tried to keep her schedule at university in mind when he put the schedule for the week up – and just like the previous day, she barely had arrived at the restaurant when she already had her first delivery to make, signalling that it would be another busy evening.

This time, she didn’t forget the cap, not liking it, but liking it even less when the boss yelled at her about it; she delivered the pizza, and by the time she came back, the next one was already waiting, and like this, she was kept busy for hours, until her shift was close to ending again, time going by so fast that she barely had a chance to realize how tired she was getting again.

“Final one for today”, the boss greeted her the moment she stepped inside after yet another delivery, gesturing at the box waiting on the counter, “you can go straight home afterwards, no need to come back here again, I’ll clock you out in half an hour.”

“Alright”, Erin gave back, not quite sure if this was legal, but too tired to care at this point, and thus not bothering to ask, “thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you”, her boss replied, and she briefly smiled at him before she grabbed the pizza box and shoved it into her bag; to her surprise, this last delivery of her day would take her to the engineering lab at Columbia again, and she found herself wondering if she’d be delivering to the same person as the previous evening.

Figuring there was only one way to find out, Erin made her way to her car, stifling a yawn as she started the engine; already looking forward to her bed and a few hours of sleep, she then drove to the university, once again quickly finding a parking spot, grabbing her bag again before she quickly walked to the lab, eager to get this delivery done and head to her home.

She knocked the door, curious again now if it truly would be the same woman as the day before; and as it turned out, it was, the blonde sporting the same crazy hairdo and yellow glasses, her outfit different this day though, signalling that she at least had changed her clothing.

“Ah”, the blonde let out, “it’s the pizza guy who’s not a guy. You’re just in time, I was very close to just fainting from hunger.”

“Lucky me?” Erin replied, not quite sure what else she could say; the blonde grinned at her, then waggled her eyebrows as she looked at the bag, and Erin found herself smiling as well, pulling the box from the bag and holding it out to the younger woman.

“13,95”, she added, once again receiving a twenty dollar bill in response; it wasn’t crumpled this time, she noticed, but it did have one of the corners burned off, and she raised an eyebrow as she held the bill up, giving the blonde a questioning look.

“This is burned”, she then stated the obvious; the other woman shrugged, then smiled again, clearly not bothered by the state of the money she had handed over.

“It’s still valid currency”, the blonde said, Erin having to admit that she was right, “keep the change, Pizza Guy Who’s Not A Guy.”

“Erin”, Erin said before she could stop herself, and remind herself of the fact that this woman probably didn’t care, “my name’s Erin. Bit shorter than Pizza Guy Who’s Not A Guy.”

“Very true”, the blonde nodded solemnly, “alright then, Erin. I’m Holtzmann.”

Erin found herself wondering what sort of name “Holtzmann” was, but didn’t question it to the blonde; she just smiled at her and told her to enjoy the pizza, then pocketed the cash and left, feeling oddly good at this little exchange – and finding herself wondering if she would deliver to this lab again soon, something she, for some reason, already was looking forward to.


	3. Surprise Support

In the next morning, Erin was quite glad that it was Thursday, and that this meant that the weekend would be there soon; she had no shift on Saturday or Sunday, to her relief, and looked forward to two days of sleeping in, with no alarm clock tearing her out of her dreams way too early.

She helped herself to coffee again, then made her way to the lecture hall; and as she sat there, readied her laptop and opened the programs she’d need, she thought of the blonde again, of the burned bill the woman had given her and of how she had introduced herself as Holtzmann, Erin by now having decided that this had to be her surname, and wondering why she would go by that.

_Maybe her first name is something really embarrassing_ , she thought to herself, _like Petunia, or something like that._

The professor entered the lecture hall and distracted her from these thoughts, and Erin quickly focused, not wanting to miss a word of what the man was about to say; the lecture went by way too fast for her liking, and so did the ones afterwards, until it was time for lunch, Erin holding back a sigh as she went to the cafeteria.

She had tried to find friends among the people studying with her, at first; she hadn’t been very good at it though – she never had been, not in all twenty-eight years of her life – and as if her own social insecurities weren’t enough of a hindrance, she had ended up delivering pizza to one of her classmates, and the guy had told everyone he had known, and now, nobody had much interest anymore in becoming her friend.

Erin tried her best to not be bothered by this, and always brought a book to lunch so she could distract herself from the fact that she had to eat alone; and once she had gotten her lunch, she found an empty table and sat down, opened her book and began to read and eat, quickly able to tune out the background noise in the cafeteria.

For a while, she had her peace, reading and eating; then, a shadow fell on her book, and she automatically looked up, stomach clenching when she saw it was the group which had laughed at her the previous day.

“Having a good lunch, pizza girl?” one of the guys asked her, his friends snickering in the background, “what, your boss won’t let you eat at the restaurant for free? Not even those benefits, huh?”

“No”, Erin replied curtly, then looked at her book again, hoping that would be enough to make them go away; apparently, it wasn’t though, as another guy spoke up now, the one she had delivered food to, something he apparently wasn’t willing to let her forget.

“Where’s your cute hat?” he wanted to know, leaning on the desk so he could grin at her, “you did look so lovely, wearing that. The red really matched your hair.”

“Please leave me alone”, Erin sighed, wondering if they had nothing better to do and if people taking physics classes shouldn’t be smarter than this; apparently though, they had no interest in doing so, another guy now leaning on the table as well instead of leaving her in peace.

“Don’t be rude to us”, he scolded, shaking his head, “or you won’t get tipped the next time you deliver to us. We do like our pizza, you know.”

“I bet you do”, an oddly familiar voice threw in from behind the guy before Erin could say something, prompting them all to turn and look at who had spoken; and to Erin’s surprise, it was Holtzmann, standing there with a bottle of coke in hand, eying them as she took a sip.

“Most people like pizza”, she added, “which is why they order it. To be capable of ordering it, brave souls are needed to brave the traffic of New York so they can deliver it to our doorsteps, a very valid and important profession. A profession you make ample use of, if you know what Erin’s hat looks like. So you need her labour to be able to eat pizza, a fact which leaves me baffled as to why you then would make fun of her for it?”

“Um”, one of the guys let out, clearly not having an answer to this; Holtzmann raised an eyebrow, while Erin could only stare at her, not having expected her to come to her rescue like this, the blonde clearly not done yet though, taking another sip of her coke before she smiled and continued.

“Also, if you piss her off too much, she might spit on your food”, she said cheerfully, making Erin gasp at the mere thought, “action and reaction. One would think someone majoring in physics would be smart enough to think of this.”

“Whatever”, one of the guys said, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, “come on guys, let’s go. I dunno who that weirdo is, but she looks like a hobo, and I have no interest in catching lice from her.”

“Ah, having no idea of how to argue back, so going for ad hominem”, Holtzmann smiled, clearly not bothered by the man’s words, “a true classic of every school yard bully. Makes me wonder how you got into this university.”

The guy just glared at her, then turned and marched off, his entourage following him; Holtzmann watched them go, then Erin cleared her throat and made the blonde look at her, a blush colouring Erin’s cheeks when their eyes met.

“Thank you”, Erin softly said, her blush deepening at what she admitted next, “I’m not sure I could have handled them like this on my own. I’m… not as good as words as you, apparently.”

“I’m just a weird hobo”, Holtzmann replied with a shrug, Erin blinking at her in surprise; grinning, Holtzmann winked at her – before she took a noisy slurp of her coke, said “have a good day!” and turned and marched off, not giving Erin a chance to say anything else, the redhead just staring after her, asking herself what just had happened and why the blonde had been so fast to leave again, after how she had come to her rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author does not share Erin's opinion about the name Petunia ;)


	4. Acid

Apparently, the things Holtzmann had said to the group stuck with them, as they left Erin alone for the rest of the day, not even looking her way anymore; and she hoped it would stay that way as she went to class again, taking part in the last three lectures of the day before she headed home for a quick shower and to change for her evening shift.

As she drove to work, she thought back to how Holtzmann had stood up for her, and it made her smile and warmed her heart – she barely knew the blonde after all, and there had been no reason why Holtzmann should have helped her like this, but still she had, and it made Erin feel all warm and tingly inside.

_Still wonder what her first name is,_ she thought to herself as she drove, taking a sip of her energy drink, _maybe I should just ask her. She did own those guys for you so easily, certainly she wouldn’t mind?_

She reached the pizzeria and parked her car close to the entrance, so she wouldn’t have to go far; and just like the previous shift, a delivery was already waiting for her, and not even two minutes later, Erin was back in the car, the ridiculous cap on her head and the equally ridiculous bag on the passenger seat.

Trying to ignore how dumb the cap and the bag made her feel, Erin drove to the address on the paper stapled to the box, dropped off the pizza there, and got a nice tip which made her feel a bit better – even though it wasn’t as nice as the tips Holtzmann had given her; and upon her return to the restaurant, the next pizza already waited, the redhead realizing that once more, it would be a busy shift.

At least, this made time go by faster, she thought to herself as she drove, and this meant that soon, her shift would be over and she could go home and sleep; and quite soon, her shift was close to being over again, her heart skipping an excited beat when she saw where the last delivery of the shift had been ordered to.

_Columbia uni engin. Lab_ the paper stapled to the box read, and Erin found herself smiling as she carried it to the car; part of her wanted to drive faster than usual, but she made herself stick to the speed limit, and told herself not to be ridiculous – Holtzmann had defended her, and had helped her, but that didn’t mean she saw her as anything else than a pizza delivery girl who brought her food, and certainly, there was no use in overthinking any of this.

Still she felt oddly excited when she parked the car close to the lab, then got out of the vehicle and made her way to the door; she wasn’t even bothered by the cap and bag this time, smiling when she knocked on the lab’s door.

Her smile faded though when Holtzmann opened the door and the twenty dollar bill she was holding was smoking.

“Holtzmann”, Erin brought out, eying the money, not quite sure if she should take a step back or remain where she was, “that money is… smoking.”

“Oh yeah”, Holtzmann gave back, unperturbed, her lack of alarm only confusing Erin more, “I spilled some of my favourite acid and a bit got on the money. No worries though, not enough to ruin it, it’s still valid currency.”

“It might be”, Erin agreed, still eying the money, “but is it also safe? Or will my fingers burn off when I touch it?”

“My fingers are fine”, Holtzmann pointed out, grinning at her, “but yeah, maybe wait until it stopped smoking. Wanna come in here until then and have a look at the engineering lab?”

“Sure”, Erin gave back after a moment, surprised at this invitation; Holtzmann was probably just being friendly, she told herself as she entered the lab and put the pizza box on a relatively empty table Holtzmann pointed out to her, then eyed the banknote again, smiling a bit when she spoke on.

“So tell me”, she said, gesturing at the money Holtzmann still was holding, “is it hydrochloric acid?”

“It is!” Holtzmann beamed at her, sounding so overjoyed that it made her smile widen almost without her realizing, “and it’s my favourite. Always has been.”

“Mine is nitric acid”, Erin let her know, feeling oddly giddy at having met someone who had a favourite acid and thus wouldn’t look at her oddly when she’d say that she had one, too; Holtzmann made a thoughtful face, then nodded – before she half sang, half shouted “TNT!”, making Erin jump, then laugh as she shook her head.

“What”, Holtzmann demanded to know, “it’s true, you can make TNT with nitric acid. And cause poofs! Medium or big. Even though, to be fair, I also cause poofs here without the help of that, to the dismay of my mentor.”

“I’m more on the theoretical side of things”, Erin admitted as she looked around the lab, impressed by all the gadgets and devices which were everywhere, “if I tried to build something, I might cause a poof, too. You’re majoring in engineering, then?”

“Nuclear engineering”, Holtzmann clarified, earning another impressed look from the redhead, “so hey, when we both got our PhDs, we can team up, you can come up with some awesome device with your physics knowledge and I can build it!”

“Sounds like fun”, Erin smiled, then looked around the lab again, “so what are you working on right now? I imagine it’s something requiring acid.”

Holtzmann grinned and nodded, then led the way to one of the workbenches, pointing out the complicated looking machine lying on it; and as she told Erin what that machine would do when it was done and how far she had gotten, Erin found herself watching her more closely than the device in question, fascinated by how fast and nimble her hands moved as she spoke, by the spark in her eye and the way her lips curled in a proud smile when she told Erin of a difficult part in building the machine she had overcome.

Perhaps, Erin thought to herself, Holtzmann just had asked her into the lab to be friendly… but she found herself having the best time she’d had in weeks, and all at once, she was quite glad that Holtzmann had spilled the acid.


	5. Paint

_Just today left_ , Erin told herself as she got out of her shower early Friday morning, yawning heartily to herself, _then you got two days off. Let’s hope no one gets sick at work so you really will have those days._

She made a face at the thought and hoped she hadn’t jinxed it now as she brushed her hair; then, she told herself not to be silly and that this was irrational superstition, quickly finishing in the bathroom, stopping at the small kitchen of her all in all small apartment to prepare some coffee, in dire need for caffeine.

It was almost ridiculous, she thought to herself, how much she was looking forward to sleeping in for the next two days; and the thought that she had several years more of this ahead of her, with studying during the day and working at evening or even at night made her shudder, but she told herself that it was worth it, that it was a sacrifice she was willing to make for a better future.

And so, she drank her coffee fairly quickly, not wanting to be late, then headed out to the university; her first lecture started early, and she had to hurry a bit to make it in time, but she was in her seat by the time the professor entered, and so, everything was fine.

The morning went by quickly, and soon, it was time for lunch; as always, Erin found a table for herself with her book, reading as she ate, but this time, she kept an eye out for Holtzmann, wondering if the blonde would show up again or if she usually didn’t go to the cafeteria.

_I guess she doesn’t eat lunch that often_ , she pondered as she ate, glancing around the cafeteria every now and then, but not spotting the crow’s nest of wild hair and the eccentric style she was on the lookout for, _cause if she did, she wouldn’t order pizza late at night every day, would she? Unless she has a fast metabolism._

As she looked up again, she didn’t spot Holtzmann, but the group of students which had made fun of her job the other day; apparently though, what Holtzmann had said had left quite the impression, as they didn’t even look at her, but ignored her completely, something Erin vastly preferred to being made fun of.

It dismayed her a bit that Holtzmann didn’t show up during the time she was at the cafeteria, but she figured that she would see her again fairly soon, quite sure that the blonde would make another order later that day; and even if Holtzmann didn’t, Erin knew that she would be at the engineering lab again, finding herself wondering if just dropping by there unannounced and without an actual invitation would be weird or creepy, or if Holtzmann would be happy to see her.

_Probably happy_ , she thought to herself, smiling a bit as she finished and put her tray away, _she did invite you into the lab the other day, she wouldn’t have done that if she had no interest in talking to you, right?_

This was sound logic, Erin told herself as she made her way to the lecture hall where her next class would be held, and she decided that, if Holtzmann wouldn’t order a pizza that evening or on Monday, she’d drop by on Monday then; the thought of seeing Holtzmann again made her smile widen, and even though she loved going to this university and loved learning new things, she found herself hoping that the day would go by fast and that Holtzmann would end up ordering pizza again, just so Erin could see her again.

* * *

As it turned out, Holtzmann did order pizza again, so Erin’s worries about not seeing her that evening had been for naught; and just like the previous days, Holtzmann’s order was the last of her shift, and she was glad about it, as it meant that she wouldn’t need to go back to the restaurant after this delivery.

Delivering to the engineering lab again made her oddly giddy, and she found herself humming along to the radio as she drove; briefly, Erin wondered if she was reading too much into this, invested too much of her thoughts and feelings into what wasn’t even a real friendship yet, but then, she pushed those thoughts aside, telling herself that she would just see how things would work out, and that for now, she’d just be happy that she’d get to see Holtzmann again.

She still hummed as she got out of the car and made her way to the building’s entrance; this time, she could hear music through the closed lab door, a familiar tune she quickly recognized as a popular song from the 80s, hoping that it wouldn’t be loud enough to drown out her knocking as she did just that.

Thankfully, Holtzmann had heard her, the music being turned down before the door opened; the blonde grinned brightly at her, but before Erin could say something, she said “wait a second!” and sped off again, Erin only able to blink at how fast this had happened.

It also didn’t take Holtzmann long to come back, the blonde still grinning as she re-emerged from the depths of the lab, carrying a small glass bottle; she held it out to Erin before the redhead could ask her what this was about, her smile impossibly widening even further as she practically presented the bottle to the taller woman.

“Here”, she said, Erin looking from her at the bottle and back at her again, “your favourite acid!”

“Aw, thank you”, Erin smiled, possibly feeling more touched by this than she should have, and not quite sure what she would actually do with this, “that’s very thoughtful, and I think the first time in my life someone has gifted me acid.”

“I’m happy you like it”, Holtzmann solemnly said, then smiled brightly again, “but! It’s not all. Here.”

She reached into the pocket of her paint-stained coveralls and pulled out a small metal disk, about as big as a dime; curious, Erin accepted it, eyes widening when she saw that the blonde had used the acid they had talked about the previous day to edge a little pizza slice into the metal, complete with melting cheese and pepperoni.

“How cute!” Erin gushed, admiring the disk, “thank you Holtzmann, that’s so sweet.”

“Eh”, Holtzmann shrugged, smiling at her, “I had some of _my_ favourite acid left over, so I figured I might as well make you something. An extra thanks for all the delicious nourishment you bring to me on a daily basis.”

“Still, it’s cute”, Erin told her, earning another bright smile, “so thank you. And, um, here’s today’s portion of the nourishment I bring to you, as you put it. 12,95.”

She held the pizza box out to Holtzmann, the blonde thanking her with an exaggerated bow which made her laugh – before Holtzmann handed her yet another twenty dollar bill, and once again, Erin raised an eyebrow at the sight of it, because a good quarter of it was covered in blue paint.

“Yesterday I spilled acid”, Holtzmann gleefully told her while Erin accepted the money, glad that at least, the paint had dried, “today, paint. Less dangerous, and no actual damage to the money! Keep the change. You work on Monday?”

“I do”, Erin confirmed, and Holtzmann smiled happily before she told Erin she’d see her on Monday, then; smiling back, the redhead nodded, then pocketed the money and walking back to her car, looking forward to her weekend which would start now – but also looking forward to Monday as then, she would see Holtzmann again.


	6. Red

During the weekend, Erin thankfully wasn’t called into work at the last minute, and had both Saturday and Sunday to sleep in and to relax; and even though she knew she should study, she slept a lot, and spent time reading and watching TV, telling herself that it was okay to take two days off, with all the work she did during the week.

And so, she spent the weekend quietly and calmly; and by the time her alarm rang Monday morning, she felt relaxed and happy, humming along to the radio again as she drove to the university, smiling to herself as she remembered Holtzmann’s promise that they would see each other Monday evening, looking forward to her classes, but also to seeing the blonde again.

As always, time during her lectures passed quickly, and she enjoyed herself, eager to learn new things and to progress in her studies; lunch was calm and quiet again, spent with eating, reading her book and looking for Holtzmann, but once again not spotting her, something she didn’t mind as much this time though, as she knew that she would see Holtzmann again later that day.

Thus, she felt happy and relaxed the whole day, and when her shift started, even though it would be a busy one again, a delivery waiting for her the moment she set foot into the restaurant; and she was kept busy until the end of her shift was near, her heart beating faster when she entered the restaurant for her last run and saw the box waiting for her.

“Columbia again”, her boss told her, “this engineering student must really like our pizza. Your shift’s over after this one, have a good evening.”

“Thanks, you too”, Erin gave back, trying her best to not seem too eager as she took hold of the pizza box and put it into her bag; still she couldn’t stop smiling as she walked to her car, and hummed along to the radio again as she drove, heart beating faster once more at the thought of seeing Holtzmann again.

Still she made herself stay within the speed limit as she drove, not wanting to risk the meagre amount of money she had left after paying university, rent, utilities and food for a ticket; thankfully, it wasn’t that far from the restaurant to the university – probably the main reason why Holtzmann ordered there, Erin thought to herself, since the pizza actually wasn’t that great, even though she would never say so to her boss – and once again, she quickly found a free parking spot once she had arrived there, glad that Holtzmann always seemed to be at the lab late, when she had no trouble finding a free place for her car.

Erin kept humming to herself as she grabbed the bag, then made sure her cap sat correctly before she got out of the car and walked to the lab; Holtzmann opened the door not even thirty seconds after knocking, apparently having waited close to the door, smiling brightly at the redhead as she greeted her with a cheerful “hi, Erin!”.

“Hi Holtzmann”, Erin happily gave back, “I bring delicious nourishment again. 14,95 today, did you get extra toppings?”

“Yup”, Holtzmann beamed at her, “I had a hankering for extra bacon. Here, keep the change.”

Erin was still smiling when she took the money from the blonde, but her smile faded quickly – because the twenty dollar bill had fresh, wet red stains on it, and Erin didn’t need to be a biology major to know what the liquid was.

“Holtzmann!” she said, not sure yet if she should be incredulous or worried, since the blonde looked perfectly fine, “why is there blood on this?!”

“Oh, that”, Holtzmann gave back, not seeming all too perturbed, “one of my babies bit me. Sorry, I can give you another one if you want.”

She held up her hand, and Erin gasped at how she had taken care of the wound – because she simply had wrapped a tissue around it and had fixed it in place with duct tape, Erin shaking her head she stepped into the lab, not caring she hadn’t actually been invited, placing both her cap and bag on the nearest table before she gave the younger woman a strict look.

“That is no way to take care of a wound”, she scolded, shaking her head, “it’ll get infected or something! Do you have a first aid kit around here somewhere? If not, I will get mine from the car.”

“In the desk over there”, Holtzmann let her know, to her relief not trying to argue, “first drawer on the right.”

For a second, Erin wondered if she was overstepping some sort of boundary, if there was no way she knew Holtzmann well enough to do something like this; then, she pushed those thoughts aside and told herself she only had the blonde’s best interest in mind, after all, the wound _could_ get infected, and that would be extra bad for someone who worked with their hands a lot, as Holtzmann obviously did.

She quickly found the first aid kit, trying to remember what she knew about dressing wounds, and hoping that it wasn’t actually so bad that it would need stitches; by the time she returned to where the blonde was standing, Holtzmann had sat down and had peeled off the tissue, the whole mess of bloodied tissue and duct tape lying on the desk now, making Erin grimace again at the sight of it.

“Oh, yikes”, she then said when she saw the wound in question, a bloodied slash across the soft pad of Holtzmann’s thumb, almost all the way down to her wrist, “that looks painful, poor you. Did you disinfect it?”

“No”, Holtzmann admitted, looking sheepish at the way Erin raised an eyebrow at her; she cleared her throat, didn’t try to defend herself though, merely making a face when Erin found a small bottle of disinfectant and poured some of it onto a clean piece of gauze.

“This is gonna sting a bit”, she then warned the younger woman, Holtzmann nodding bravely; to Erin’s surprise, she didn’t even flinch the slightest when the disinfectant touched the open wound, not making a sound, either, not even when Erin wiped over the cut, making sure she got it all.

“Alright”, she said after a while, eying the wound critically, “I think I got it all. Now let’s see if I remember enough first aid to bandage this up…”

“Thank you”, Holtzmann solemnly said while Erin placed a fresh piece of gauze on the wound, making sure it was covered completely, then unpacked a roll of bandage and used it to wrap it up, making sure the gauze would stay in place; carefully, not wanting to make the pain worse, she tied a knot, then sat back and took a critical look at her work, not quite sure she had done a good job.

“Looks great”, Holtzmann answered her unasked question, making Erin look at her, “again, thank you. Usually, my mentor bandages me up when one of my babies is acting up, but she couldn’t be around tonight so…”

“Nothing to thank me for”, Erin told her, smiling at her, “I’m glad I could help. Consider this a return of a favour, you helped me with those idiots at the cafeteria after all.”

“Go out with me”, Holtzmann blurted in response, and Erin froze, not having expected this the slightest; she blinked, and to her amazement, Holtzmann blushed brightly and looked away, suddenly finding her bandaged hand very interesting.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that”, she mumbled, in an oddly stilted tone now, “you’re doing your job and are being super nice but that doesn’t mean you like me that way, that was wrong and I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry, I…”

“Yes”, Erin interrupted her, unable to keep the joy out of her voice, smiling when Holtzmann’s head practically snapped up so she could look her in the eyes again, “yes, I’d love to go out with you, Holtzmann. Just promise we won’t go out for pizza?”

Holtzmann beamed at her in response, her smile so wide and bright that it made Erin’s heart swell with happiness, as well; feeling daring now after Erin’s agreement, Holtzmann reached out with her healthy hand and grasped the redhead’s, only feeling happier when Erin didn’t pull back, holding her gaze now, unable to stop grinning as she replied.

“I promise”, she told Erin, making her smile, “how does Chinese sound?”

“Perfect”, Erin reassured her, running her thumb over the knuckles of the other woman’s hand; and then, the two just sat there for a bit, grinning at each other, both of them suddenly quite sure that this was only the beginning of something quite wonderful.


	7. Chop Suey

Due to Erin’s schedule, she only could offer Saturday evening for the date with Holtzmann, but the younger woman was more than happy with accepting this; she promised Erin that she would order pizza every evening until then, making Erin laugh as she nodded, the redhead feeling giddy and happy by the time she left the lab and headed to her car to drive home and get some sleep.

She could barely believe her luck, not having expected Holtzmann to ask her out, but more than happy about it; now that Holtzmann had made it obvious that she liked her this way, Erin allowed herself to admit that she felt the same, and couldn’t stop smiling as she drove home.

Thanks to how giddy she felt, it was difficult for her to fall asleep, but in the end, she managed; and her giddiness remained for the rest of the next day, the rest of the week, even, helped by the fact that Holtzmann did order pizza every evening for the rest of the week – and that each day, she gave Erin a bill with a little piece of paper clipped onto it, said pieces counting down to their date.

Holtzmann had told her she’d pick her up at seven, and even though Erin was looking forward to sleeping in, she also could barely wait for Saturday evening to arrive; she felt happy and excited the whole day, only getting nervous at six, finding herself wondering if perhaps, Holtzmann had changed her mind, if she’d cancel last minute or simply not show up at all, worried thoughts which weren’t new to her, she always had had a tendency to overthink things and to worry too much.

_Stop it_ , she strictly told herself, after glancing at her watch yet again and having realized that only two minutes had passed since the last time she had looked, _Holtzmann made a countdown to tonight, for God’s sake, she won’t change her mind or stand you up. She’ll show up seven and you’ll have an amazing date with her._

_But what if she won’t,_ another voice whispered treacherously, equally loud as the rational one, _what if it all has been some sort of long conducted ploy? Get you to trust her, set a date and then she’ll stand you up and you’ll be the laughing stock of Columbia? She can’t be older than twenty-two, twenty-three, what makes you think she would have an interest in dating you, with you being closer to thirty than your mid-twenties?_

Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, Erin forced herself to ignore the voice, something she had gotten quite good at during her life; and thankfully, it worked this time, as well, the voice fading away slowly, until it was gone completely.

Eager to distract herself before these thoughts might come back, Erin sat down on her small couch, grabbed her book and started to read; thankfully, the novel was entertaining enough to keep her mind busy, and after a while, she even stopped looking at her watch, getting lost in the plot – enough that she jumped when a knock came from her door, a quick look at her watch telling her it was five minutes to seven.

Feeling excited now, she quickly put her book aside, then practically jumped up and rushed to the door; once there, she paused though, took a moment to smooth down her hair, shirt and skirt, then cleared her throat before she finally pulled the door open, smiling brightly when she found Holtzmann in front of it, the blonde grinning back at her, Erin only feeling happier at the sight of the flowers Holtzmann was holding.

“Here”, the younger woman smiled, holding them out to her, “these are for you. Flowers are a good start for a date, right?”

“Definitely”, Erin nodded, accepting the flowers and admiring them, trying to remember the last time someone had gifted her flowers and failing, “they’re beautiful, thank you, Holtzmann. Just let me put these away and then we can head out?”

“Ready when you are”, Holtzmann beamed at her, clearly as excited about this as Erin herself felt; the redhead smiled back at her once more, then quickly put the flowers in an empty milk bottle – not having a vase at hand – before she returned to Holtzmann, feeling her cheeks heat up when the blonde offered her arm to her.

“Charming”, she then commented, taking hold of her date’s arm – and that was amazing, she thought to herself, Holtzmann actually was her date, she was having a date Saturday evening with an amazing, interesting woman, “shall we, then?”

Nodding, Erin took a moment to lock her door, then headed down the stairs together with Holtzmann, the blonde leading the way to her car; it was a newer model than the one Erin herself drove, but she could tell Holtzmann hadn’t bought it new, and for some reason, this made her feel even less self-conscious, the redhead perfectly happy and content as Holtzmann opened the passenger side door for her, then got into the car herself, curious and excited to see what the evening would bring.

* * *

“Alright, so”, Holtzmann said a while later, the two of them now in a comfortable booth at a Chinese restaurant and sharing a plate of spring rolls as an appetizer, “tell me about yourself. I want to know all of Erin Gilbert’s deep dark secrets.”

“No deep dark secrets at the first date”, Erin told her in response, making her grin slightly, “but I will give you the basics. My full name is Erin Gilbert, I’m twenty-eight, I’m majoring in physics, want to get my PhD, and then maybe go into research, or into teaching, I’m not sure yet. I like reading fantasy novels, even though some people think they are trash, and you already know I deliver pizza after classes. What about you?”

“Jillian Holtzmann”, Holtzmann replied without missing a beat, making Erin smile a bit again as well, “but I go by Holtzmann or Holtz, have ever since I started at Columbia, I’m the only girl in nuclear engineering and it freaks the guys out less. I’m twenty-three, I spend way too much time at the lab according to my mentor, even though she only knows that cause she’s there just as much, and when I got my PhD, I want to build and invent things. I like fantasy novels too, but also horror novels, and I’m eating way too much takeout.”

“You don’t say”, Erin teased, making the blonde snicker, her gaze softening though as she continued, “I have to say though, I’m glad you did. And that you order at the place where I work, cause because of that, we’ve met.”

She had a moment to wonder if she had said too much now, if it was too early for such sentiments; then Holtzmann gave her another bright smile and told her she was glad they had met, too, being even more daring than Erin, as she reached over the table and grasped the redhead’s hand, the contact sending a pleasant jolt up Erin’s arm.

The waiter interrupted the sweet moment, having spotted their empty plate of appetizers; Holtzmann ordered chop suey as main course while Erin went with sweet-sour chicken, the two women having pleasant conversation as they ate – and while Holtzmann clearly was interested in what Erin had to say, and asked many questions, Erin noticed that the blonde didn’t ask about any topics which might make her uncomfortable, like why she had to work after lectures and why she was at the university at her age.

She was glad that Holtzmann didn’t bring these things up, not quite ready to tell Holtzmann about these things yet; they spoke about harmless, safe topics, and they had fun, laughing a lot together, Erin feeling quite dismayed when they got done with their food and she realized the evening was coming to an end.

Erin didn’t want to appear pushy though, and so, she nodded when Holtzmann asked if they should head out, then; to her surprise, the blonde insisted on paying for both of them, then held the door open for her on the way out, and the passenger side door of the car again, the two continuing their talk as Holtzmann drove her back home.

During the drive, Erin found herself wondering if she should dare to kiss the blonde once she’d drop her off at her building, or if it was too early for that; she had had an amazing time though, she told herself, and she should show Holtzmann how much she had enjoyed their date, quietly hoping that she wouldn’t lose her nerve by the time they’d arrive at her home.

The drive was over way too fast, Holtzmann parking in front of her apartment building too soon for Erin’s liking, making her smile by offering to walk her to the door; and once there, Erin gathered all her courage, allowed herself a moment to hope she wasn’t making a mistake now, and then she leaned in.

Holtzmann kissed her back at once, and she tasted slightly of chop suey still, and it was the perfect ending to the best date Erin had ever had.


	8. Visit

Erin slept in on Sunday, as she always did; and when she woke, and checked her phone for the time, she saw that Holtzmann had sent her a text a short while ago, the content making her smile first thing in the morning.

_Holtzmann: I hope this isn’t waking you up. Just wanted to let you know I had a great time yesterday and I hope you slept well. :)_

“How cute”, Erin gushed to herself, not caring that talking to herself like this might be considered weird – and she doubted that Holtzmann would care she did this, anyway, after all, the blonde was quite eccentric herself – then quickly wrote back, unable to stop smiling as her fingers moved over the keys.

_I had a great time, too_ , she let Holtzmann know, _and no worries, you didn’t wake me up. I did, and I hope you did, too!_

She considered for a moment to ask when she could see Holtzmann again, then decided against it, once again worrying about being pushy; and so, she sent the message as it was, reluctantly putting her phone away afterwards, already knowing that part of her would keep listening for the buzz noise which would signal an incoming message.

Despite how anxious she was to get a reply from Holtzmann, Erin made herself not look at her phone every other minute as she got out of bed and made her way to the small kitchen to prepare her breakfast; and just when she finished with the coffee machine and switched it on, the phone vibrated on the kitchen table, and her heart skipped a bit, a smile on her face again as she turned to grab it.

To her dismay though, the message wasn’t from Holtzmann, but from her boss, asking her if she could take over an afternoon shift as one of the delivery guys had called in sick; her first impulse was to say No, but she knew she needed the money, and so, with a small sigh, she wrote back that she could and that she’d be there at three.

And right after she had sent her agreement, Holtzmann texted her again after all, telling her she had slept well too – and asking her if she had plans for the afternoon, only making her mood drop further.

_Sadly, yes_ , she wrote back, holding back another sigh, telling herself she couldn’t tell her boss now that she had changed her mind, _my boss just texted and asked me to take over the afternoon shift, it starts at three. Sorry._

_Aw_ , Holtzmann’s response came quickly, _that’s too bad. Drive safely then!_

Erin smiled at that, and quickly wrote back that she would; then, she checked her watch and, with a small sigh, decided she might as well relax a bit until she’d have to go work, and got comfortable on her couch with her book, eager to make the best of the free time she’d have until she’d have to go back to work again.

* * *

Erin didn’t feel quite motivated to work several hours later, but told herself she had to; she rather would have spent the afternoon with Holtzmann, but figured they would have more time to do so later on, a thought which led to her wondering if Holtzmann and she were officially dating now or if they were in some sort of relationship limbo now, somewhere between friends and lovers.

“Well, we did kiss”, she reminded herself as she got dressed for her shift, smiling to herself at the memory, at how sweet said kiss had been, “I guess friends don’t do that. Maybe I should ask her though…”

She fell silent as she pondered this idea, then decided she would try to bring it up the next change she got; feeling good at having made this not unimportant decision, Erin then grabbed the dreaded cap and headed out, hoping that at least, people would tip well, so going to work on short such notice would actually pay off for her.

As she drove to the restaurant, she was expecting several things, from light traffic to having to head out immediately again the moment she’d set foot in the building; what she hadn’t expected though, and what thus surprised her quite a bit, was Holtzmann standing in the parking lot of the restaurant, grinning when she saw Erin pull into a free space near the door.  

“Holtzmann!” she said the moment she had practically hopped out of the car, “what are you doing here?! Not that I’m not happy to see you, because I am, I really am, hi!”

She made herself stop rambling and decided there was a better way to greet Holtzmann, pressing a quick, but gentle kiss to her lips; Holtzmann kissed her back immediately again, like the previous evening, then grinned and shrugged, her cheeks colouring slightly when she spoke up, only making her look cuter to the redhead.

“Well, you know”, she said, “I had a bit of a dilemma. I wanted to spend more time with you, because you’re awesome and I like you, but you have to work, and I know you can’t just skip that for me. So, I figured I might as well show up here and keep you company during your shift, you spend a lot of time in your car anyway right? We might as well do that together.”

“Awww”, Erin let out, touched by the sweetness of this gesture, “that’s so cute, thank you, Holtzmann. But… won’t you be bored? I mean, I love the thought of spending time with you, even if I will have to work, but it’s not exactly a thrilling job.”

“I don’t mind”, Holtzmann shrugged, smiling at her, her blush slowly fading – a fact which made Erin feel a bit regretful, as Holtzmann had looked rather cute with reddened cheeks, and normally, she was the one to blush, “I just… like being with you? Unless you don’t want me around during your work time, I’d understand…”

“No, no”, Erin hurriedly said, reaching out to touch her arm and making her smile again, “I want you around, I really do. I just don’t want you to feel bored, sitting in the car while I deliver pizza.”

“I won’t be bored when I’m with you”, Holtzmann solemnly replied, and this time, it was Erin who blushed; she smiled at the blonde, then pulled her in for another kiss, feeling giddy and happy when she pulled back and finally walked inside the restaurant, the first delivery already waiting for her there, but now, she didn’t mind so much anymore, knowing that she would get to spend more time with Holtzmann after all.


	9. Couch

“So, um”, Erin said several hours later, after her shift had ended and she had actually gone back to the restaurant this time to clock out, “you… wanna come upstairs with me for a nightcap? I got cider, if you like that?”

She knew the implications of asking this, but while she wasn’t quite ready to go that far yet, she did want to spend more time with Holtzmann, and perhaps do more than exchange the quick, innocent kisses they had shared during her shift; and to her happiness, Holtzmann nodded at once, smiling happily, eyes sparkling when she told Erin that she loved cider.

“Great”, Erin smiled, “let’s go then. Fair warning though, my place is kinda small and I didn’t have time to do more than the most necessary cleaning lately so if there is dust, I apologize in advance.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine”, Holtzmann reassured her as they walked up the stairs again, making her smile once more, “come on Erin, your car is spotless even though you spend so much time in it, I’m sure your home will be just as neat. You should see my car, it’s a total mess.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad”, Erin said with a small laugh, the blonde grinning and shrugging in response; the redhead smiled back at her, then unlocked the door to her home, letting Holtzmann enter first, the younger woman glancing around before she nodded, a smirk curling her lips as she turned to look at Erin.

“See, I knew it”, she declared, spreading her arms out, “while this place is small, as you said, it is much cleaner than you made it sound. I think we could eat off this floor if we wanted to.”

“Let’s not do that”, Erin replied with another laugh, earning a bright grin from the blonde, “but I’m glad you’re not put off by my humble abode. Now, why don’t you go sit on the couch and I’ll get the drinks?”

“Sounds good”, Holtzmann nodded, stealing another quick kiss before she went to sit on the couch; and by the time Erin had gotten two bottles of cider from the fridge, had opened them and went to join her, she had found the redhead’s book and was reading the summary on the back, glancing up at Erin when she sat down next to her.

“This sounds interesting”, she told her, “mind if I borrow it when I’m done?”

“Nah, I’ll drop it off at your lab together with pizza once I finished”, Erin said, making the blonde smile at her; then, Holtzmann put the book aside and accepted the bottle Erin held out to her, clinking the neck of it against Erin’s bottle, making the redhead smile with what she said next.

“To pizza”, Holtzmann declared, “because it led to me getting to know you, which is awesome.”

“Aw”, Erin let out, feeling her cheeks heat up again and cursing herself for her tendency to blush so easily, “that’s sweet, thank you, Holtzmann. And I agree, it is awesome.”

They both took a long sip of cider, then Erin cleared her throat and put the bottle aside, Holtzmann watching her curiously, not saying anything though, somehow already sensing that Erin had something to say, the redhead appearing a bit nervous now, looking her in the eye as she spoke up at last.

“So, um”, she began, trying to not say the wrong thing and perhaps accidentally offend Holtzmann, “I… know what’s often implied when asking a date up to your apartment? But… I’m really not quite… ready to do that yet. God, that makes me sound like a prude.”

“It doesn’t”, Holtzmann reassured her at once, reaching over and grasping her hand, making her smile again, her cheeks still reddened though, “and actually, these implications only come up when you’re bringing a guy home. At least that is what I have been told, being super gay and everything. Anyway, I don’t expect anything from you, I just want to be near you a bit longer.”

“Aw”, Erin let out, unable to hold back a giddy smile, “you’re so sweet.”

She gave Holtzmann another smile, then leaned in and kissed her, a kiss which started out fairly innocent; it quickly deepened though, and got passionate, Erin struggling to hold back a moan when she felt Holtzmann wrap both arms around her and pull her close.

Somehow, she ended up practically straddling the blonde, one of her hands entangling in Holtzmann’s hair while the other came to rest at her lower back; and even though she wasn’t quite ready to do more than make out, Erin felt quite aroused, her heart hammering in her chest and her cheeks burning when she finally had to pull back from the kiss.

“Oh”, she belatedly realized she was practically sitting on Holtzmann, “I, um, I’m sorry, I’m not too heavy, am I…?”

“Nah”, Holtzmann reassured her at once, having to swallow somewhat heavily before she could continue, “it’s perfectly fine, no worries.”

Erin smiled at her, shifting a bit to get more comfortable, belatedly realizing the effect this had on Holtzmann when the younger woman pulled in a sharp breath; before Erin could say something though, and ask her if it was still okay, Holtzmann pulled her down for another passionate kiss, and this time, she found herself unable to hold back a low groan.

“Um, okay”, Holtzmann said once they had pulled apart once more, breathing noticeably faster at this point, and even though Erin didn’t want to go further than kissing, seeing the blonde like this only heightened her own arousal, “don’t get me wrong, but if we keep doing this, I can’t promise I’ll keep my hands to myself. Maybe I should go home, before I lose what little self control I have left.”

“Probably a good idea”, Erin admitted, blushing, “I’ll see you tomorrow…?”

“Well, I am planning to have pizza again”, Holtzmann told her, Erin feeling a bit regretful as she got off her lap, but telling herself it was for the greater good, “but you can drop by at the lab anytime, I’m there most of the day. If I’m not, my mentor will know where I am, but chances are I’m just on the potty and won’t be away for long.”

“Good to know”, Erin smiled, making the blonde grin and nod – before she came to her feet and straightened her clothes, Erin’s cheeks heating up again at seeing this as she knew that she was responsible for the disarray of said clothing.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then”, she said instead of making any comment; Holtzmann nodded again, Erin stealing a quick, this time innocent kiss before she walked her to the door, telling her to get home safely and to have a nice night.

“You too”, Holtzmann said, kissing her once more before she left; and once the door had closed behind her, Erin leaned against the wood and let out a deep sigh, still feeling desire burn deep within her, but telling herself that taking things slow was better and that sooner or later, there would be a chance for them to go farther than they had this night.


	10. Mentor

In the next day, Erin at first considered waiting until Holtzmann would order pizza again in the evening, once more worried about being pushy; on the other hand, she did want to see Holtzmann again before the end of her shift, and Holtzmann had said that she could drop by at her lab anytime – and so, instead of sitting at the cafeteria for lunch, Erin just purchased two sandwiches and drinks instead, then headed to the lab, her heart beating faster from anticipation as she knocked the door.

To her dismay, it wasn’t Holtzmann who opened, but some young man, eying her curiously; she cleared her throat and asked if Holtzmann was there, and he nodded at once, then called “Holtz! Pretty lady here to see you!” over his shoulder, Erin blushing at the compliment, something the man apparently didn’t notice as he walked away without another look at her.

“Thanks Benny”, she heard Holtzmann thank him, then the blonde appeared in the doorframe, grinning at her, clearly happy to see her, Erin smiling back at her almost automatically, feeling her heart skip another beat.

“Hey there”, Holtzmann greeted her, then amazed her by giving her a questioning look, clearly not quite sure if greeting her with a kiss would be welcome; Erin answered the unasked question by leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to her lips, cheeks burning brightly again when she pulled back, but she didn’t regret she had done it, not even when she noticed that some of the young guys at the lab were staring at them.

“Hi”, Erin said after the kiss, holding up the food and bottles she had brought, “I figured I’d drop by and we can have a little lunch together? I didn’t get a big one, if you want pizza again later today.”

“Aw, how sweet”, Holtzmann said, smiling brightly, making Erin feel quite tingly inside, “thank you. Shall we go sit outside to eat?”

Erin nodded, quickly checking her watch – she greatly enjoyed spending time with Holtzmann, but she didn’t want to be late for her next class – then led the way; they found an empty bench and sat down there, Holtzmann thanking Erin again when the redhead handed her one of the sandwiches, letting out a gasp of delight when she unwrapped it.

“Chicken!” she then declared, Erin smiling at her joy, “how did you know that is my favourite?!”

“Your pizza order has one variety or other of chicken on it every time”, Erin pointed out, “so that wasn’t hard to guess.”

“Maybe I should order two pizzas tonight”, Holtzmann pondered out loud, earning a questioning look from the redhead, which prompted her to clarify, “so we can then eat them together? Unless you don’t like the pizza of that place.”

“I’ve had better”, Erin honestly gave back, then cleared her throat as the blonde snickered, “don’t tell my boss I said that. But I like the sound of having late night pizza with you, so if you don’t mind the extra cost…”

“I don’t”, Holtzmann reassured her, earning another smile, “alright then, two pizzas it is. Just tell me what you like on yours and… well… you’ll deliver it, but hey, we’ll have it together!”

“We will”, Erin smiled, then checked her watch again, sighing when she realized she only had a few minutes left; she apologized to Holtzmann for the short time they had had together, feeling better though when the blonde reassured her it was no problem and that they could hang out longer in the evening.

“I’ll see you later, then”, she said, leaning in for a quick kiss before she got up; Holtzmann smiled and nodded, then got up as well, telling Erin she was looking forward to it, the redhead nodding and smiling brightly in response.

“Me too”, she then told Holtzmann, claiming her lips once more – before she finally forced herself to walk away and to class, already looking forward to the time she’d get to spend with Holtzmann later.

* * *

Thankfully, her shift was busy again, and so, time went by fast; and before Erin knew it, she was on her way to Columbia again, for the last delivery of her shift – and this time, it was two pizzas, one with chicken and barbecue sauce for Holtzmann and one more sensible one, with ham and mushrooms, for herself.

She was smiling the whole drive, looking forward to some alone time with Holtzmann, even if they would be at the engineering lab; and so, she was quite surprised when she arrived there and found out that Holtzmann wasn’t alone, an elder woman in a lab coat with her, apparently having been in the middle of explaining something to the blonde when Erin had arrived with the food.

“Ah, your dinner”, the woman commented as Erin stood there, feeling a bit awkward now, knowing she couldn’t just ask the woman if she was planning to stay for much longer, not wanting to be rude or to make a bad impression, “you must be Erin Gilbert, then?”

“Uh, yes?” Erin squeaked, momentarily wondering how the woman knew her name – before Holtzmann grinned widely and vaguely gestured at her, to Erin’s amazement sounding somewhat proud when she spoke up.

“Erin, this is Dr Rebecca Gorin, my mentor”, she said, Erin realizing that this was the mentor the younger woman had mentioned quite a few times already, “Dr Gorin, this is Erin Gilbert, deliverer of delicious nourishment. And also, we’re dating.”

“Yes”, Erin confirmed, glad that her voice had returned to normal, even though this wasn’t an easy feat, with how closely Dr Gorin was looking at her now; she figured at once that the elder woman was protective of Holtzmann, and she hoped she was passing muster, not wanting to imagine what might happen if the blonde’s mentor wouldn’t approve of her.

“Ah” Dr Gorin let out, not giving Erin much insight about what she thought of her, but at least, she wasn’t outright condemning her, “well, nice to meet you, Erin. Perhaps you will provide good influence on Jillian and help her to be more neat and organized. Don’t have sex in here.”

Erin could only let out an unarticulated squeak, while Holtzmann didn’t seem too bothered; Dr Gorin gave her a short, tight smile, making her wonder how serious she just had been about banning sex from the lab, but before she could ponder this further, Dr Gorin let her know that she would take her leave, wishing them both a nice evening before she did just that and hurried out, the door clicking shut behind her.

“Wow”, Erin let out the moment she could be sure the woman was actually not just out of the lab, but also out of earshot, “no offense Holtzmann, but your mentor is… intense.”

“Oh yeah she can be”, Holtzmann nodded, taking the pizza boxes from Erin and handing her forty dollars, shaking her head when Erin looked as if she wanted to protest, the redhead a bit stunned at how much of a tip this left her with, “but she’s also brilliant, one of the best in her field. I’m learning so much from her.”

She made room on a nearby table as she spoke, then placed the boxes on them; before they started to eat though, she pulled Erin close for a gentle kiss, pointing out that only sex in the lab had been forbidden when the redhead looked a bit worried.

“Good point”, Erin agreed, earning a bright grin from the blonde; she smiled back at her, then kissed her again, with much more passion this time, the pizzas for the moment forgotten as they were fully focused on each other.


	11. Definitions

During the next few days, Erin and Holtzmann developed a sort of routine between them; Erin would drop by at the lab with a small snack for lunch, and with pizza for Holtzmann as the final delivery of her shift, either bringing food for herself when she didn’t feel like pizza or having the blonde order one for her as well.

Erin did find herself wondering where Holtzmann got her money from, as the blonde obviously had no financial woes; she knew at this point that Holtzmann didn’t have a job, but focused the time they weren’t spending together on her studies, and still it never seemed as if the younger woman was short on cash.

She was too polite to simply ask though, figuring that Holtzmann would tell her sooner or later; and Holtzmann returned the favour, never asking her why she had started at the university at twenty-eight instead of after high school like her classmates, and why she had to work part-time to keep herself going.

Just like Erin knew that sooner or later, she would find about Holtzmann’s financial situation, she also knew that sooner or later, Holtzmann would find out all about her; she wasn’t quite ready to bring it up though, not yet, and so, she was thankful that the blonde didn’t ask any unpleasant questions, the two of them discussing light topics whenever they were together, from their studies to books they had read to movies and TV shows and music they liked.

On Friday, Holtzmann asked Erin if she wanted to come with her to her place after her shift had ended, and Erin agreed at once, happy that she’d get to spend more time with Holtzmann; and once she had delivered the blonde’s pizza and it had been eaten, Holtzmann asked her to follow her in her car, thankfully driving less reckless than she worked in the lab, making it easy for Erin to follow her.

To the redhead’s surprise, the blonde led her to one of the nicer parts of town, and stopped in front of a building which certainly didn’t have low rent; she gaped as she got out of the car, not wanting to imagine how much Holtzmann had to pay each month for a place in a building as nice as this one.

“Wow, Holtzmann”, she said once she had parked as well and had moved to the blonde’s side, looking up at the building, “that looks like a really nice place.”

“Yeah, it’s okay”, Holtzmann gave back, shrugging, “let’s hope though the elevator isn’t broken, or we’ll have to walk up ten flights of stairs.”

Erin made a face at that thought, but luckily, the elevator was working; and during the ride up to the tenth floor, the two of them ended up kissing quite passionately, something they had been doing a lot lately, but weren’t growing tired of, only enjoying it more each time it happened.

Unfortunately, the elevator rode fairly fast, and they had to pull apart again rather soon; Erin felt flushed and aroused, hiding these feelings well though as she followed Holtzmann down the hall – and forgot them completely when the blonde unlocked her apartment door and let her step inside, and she saw how big the place actually was.

“Oh wow”, she said again, not feeling very eloquent, but unable to come up with something better, “Holtzmann, this is huge!”

She looked around wide-eyed, now feeling even worse about her own home, the tiny, cheap place which was all she could afford; Holtzmann just shrugged as she took off her shoes, prompting Erin to do the same, the redhead still looking around in awe as she followed the blonde to the equally spacious living room.

“It is”, Holtzmann told her as she gestured at the couch, Erin giving the well-filled book shelf a look of appreciation as she sat down, “which is why I’m sharing it with two roommates, less to clean then and there’s always someone around to talk.”

“Holtzy!” a female voice called out as if to confirm this, “that you? You bring a guest?”

“It is me”, Holtzmann replied, “and I brought Erin!”

“Oooh”, the owner of the voice said, appearing in the room moments later, impressing Erin with her height, her friendly, bright smile making her look much less imposing though, “Erin, hi, it’s so nice to meet you, Holtzy has been talking a lot about you. I’m Patty, one of her roommates.”

“Abby is the other one”, Holtzmann helpfully added while Erin shook Patty’s hand, “but she’s not around, she works the graveyard shift over at Walmart. Before I discovered the place you work at, I used to go there all the time and buy weird snacks just to make her roll her eyes at me.”

“Both Abby and I are glad that she found out about your restaurant”, Patty added, grinning at the blonde, “we were starting to get worried about the amount of unhealthy, salty snacks she ate each evening.”

“I’m not sure the pizza from this place is so much better”, Erin pointed out, smiling when Patty and Holtzmann shrugged in perfect unison, Patty giving them a smile as well afterwards, letting them know that she was about to head out for some drinks.

“Have fun, you two”, she added, Erin blushing at the wink she added, Holtzmann’s grin only widening, “don’t do any kinky stuff on that couch, we all sit on it, take it to Holtzy’s room.”

“No worries Pattycakes”, Holtzmann gave back, Patty rolling her eyes affectionately at the nickname; then, she wished them a good evening before she headed out, the two remaining on the couch, Erin still blushing even as she heard the door click shut and knew Patty was gone.

“Why does everyone who learns we’re dating tell us to not have sex in the place where we meet them”, she then wanted to know, looking at Holtzmann with a raised eyebrow, “please tell me you weren’t caught by all of them having sex in weird places.”

“No”, Holtzmann replied with a snort, making Erin smile again as well, “honest. Dr Gorin tells this to everyone who has a date show up at the lab, and Patty just… happens to be rather direct. In fact, she never caught me having sex with anyone cause this is the first time I bring a girlfriend here.”

“Oh?” Erin perked up at once, and Holtzmann belatedly realized what she just had said, eyes widening as she hoped that she hadn’t said the wrong thing now and had ruined it all, “is this… what we are? Girlfriends? For the record, I’d be very fine with being your girlfriend. Um, unless you’re not fine with it, then we can be just… something undefined, like say we’re dating but…”

“Erin”, Holtzmann interrupted her, and she blushed once again as she realized she had been rambling, forcing herself to shut up, “I’d be very fine with you being my girlfriend, too, and it seems we both are fine with it, so… Be my girlfriend?”

“Yes”, Erin replied with a small happy laugh, Holtzmann grinning back at her brightly; then, she pulled the redhead closer for a passionate kiss, Erin kissing her back at once, wrapping both arms around her and pulling her closer until she once again ended up straddling the younger woman.

“Okay”, Holtzmann breathed once they had pulled apart, her face looking as heated as Erin’s was feeling, “if we don’t stop now, we better move to my room like Patty said, or I will ravage you right here on this very couch and risk her wrath.”

“Wouldn’t want to piss off your roommate”, Erin replied solemnly, getting up from the couch – before she held her hand out to Holtzmann and smiled impishly, the blonde grinning back at her as she practically jumped up from the couch and grasped her hand, leading the way to the bedroom, both of them ready to celebrate the newly found definition of their relationship.

 


	12. Pillow Talk

Erin could only let out an unarticulated groan as she slumped back onto the pillow, breathing heavily, sweat glistening on her brow; Holtzmann ended up next to her, smiling a bit smugly, something Erin noticed a few seconds later, and something which prompted her to raise an eyebrow.

“Don’t look so smug”, she then said, shaking her head when Holtzmann’s grin only widened, and blushing brightly at the blonde’s response.

“Can’t help it”, she said, “seeing how I made you cry out my name, I just have to look a bit smug. Also, I think you scratched up my back, can you check?”

She rolled over on her belly and Erin gasped at the red lines running down her back; at least, she thought to herself, she hadn’t scratched Holtzmann hard enough to actually break the skin, but it still looked painful, and she immediately felt bad about having done this, even though she hadn’t even noticed she was doing it when it had happened.

“Oh Holtz, I’m sorry”, she said, reaching out and running her fingertips over the marks she had left, grimacing, “I really didn’t mean to… Does that hurt?”

“Nah”, Holtzmann reassured her, rolling over again so now she was lying on her side, propping herself up on one elbow so she could look Erin in the face, “it was kinda hot actually, I liked. Feel free to scratch me up anytime we’re doing this, hot stuff.”

“Hot stuff?” Erin repeated, raising an eyebrow again; Holtzmann shrugged and grinned, leaning down for a quick kiss before she responded, in a sing-song voice which made Erin giggle.

“Looking for some hot stuff, baby, this evening”, Holtzmann sang, interrupting herself with another kiss before she continued, “looking for some hot stuff, baby, tonight.”

“Well, you don’t have to look for me, I’m already here”, Erin pointed out, still giggling; Holtzmann grinned and shrugged, then stole another kiss before she snuggled up to the redhead, Erin letting out a content sigh as she wrapped both arms around her.

“You know”, she said thoughtfully after just enjoying being so close to the blonde for a while, “I was happy to start studying at Columbia, but… apart from that, I didn’t have much to be happy about. I mean, I love going to class, learning new things, but… I didn’t have any real friends, nobody to talk about my day with. It’s a good thing I was so busy all the time, cause it kept from realizing how lonely I was but… now I have you in my life, and that makes it so much better.”

“Aw”, Holtzmann let out, touched, “that is so sweet. I’m happy I got you in my life too, Erin, I’m really glad we’ve met.”

“Me too”, Erin smiled, kissing her briefly, but gently, “I’m really glad I took this job, cause it led me to you. Even though it means I have to work every day during the week and won’t have much time to be with you, I still need the money I make there…”

She sighed, then looked at Holtzmann again, smiling a bit once more as their eyes met, moving one hand to play with Holtzmann’s hair, sounding wistful now as she continued.

“For a while, I wasn’t even sure I had done the right thing”, she said thoughtfully, Holtzmann looking at her in silence, sensing she had more to say, “coming to New York, working for a couple years, to save up for starting at Columbia… but now I know I did, because it led me to you, and I’m so happy now.”

“I’m happy, too”, Holtzmann smiled at her, earning another kiss, “and, if you don’t mind me asking, what were doing before? Before coming to New York I mean?”

“Oh, I was supposed to go to university in Michigan”, Erin replied, and her sudden light tone showed Holtzmann that she was about to reveal something big, “but then I made the mistake of coming out as bi to my parents and they kicked me out. I decided I wanted a completely fresh start, so I moved here.”

“Oh”, Holtzmann let out, not having expected this the slightest, but having suspected already that Erin wasn’t on good terms with her family, since she never had mentioned them before, “aw, wow, that sucks Erin, I’m sorry. But, well… you did the right thing coming here, cause we met each other.”

“I agree”, Erin smiled, kissing her again, still playing with her hair and making her sigh in content, “what about you? Have you been in New York all your life?”

“Yeah”, Holtzmann confirmed, suddenly sounding oddly stilted though, Erin realizing at once that this was something she didn’t like to talk about, but before she could tell her she didn’t have to say more, the blonde continued, still in the stilted, oddly flat tone, “not far from here actually, until… Until my parents were in a car accident and died.”

“Oh my God, Holtzmann”, Erin said, mortified, “I had no idea, I’m so sorry! Oh my God, and here I’m complaining about my parents kicking me out while you… I’m so sorry, I feel so bad now…”

“Aw, don’t feel bad”, Holtzmann told her at once, even managing a smile, “it’s not your fault, you didn’t know. I know you meant no harm.”

“Never”, Erin reassured her at once, still feeling bad, “I had no idea, I never would have said anything… I’m still sorry, Holtz.”

“It’s okay”, Holtzmann reassured her, then decided that there was a better way to distract her, leaning over her to kiss her, gently at first, then with more passion; one of her hands slid up the redhead’s naked body, and Erin shuddered at her touch, clearly having recovered from the strain of their previous activities.

“So”, Holtzmann said, the stilted tone gone from her voice as she pushed the unhappy memories aside and focused on the much more pleasant present time, “ready for round two?”

Erin could only smile, and nod, then pulled her down for another kiss; and as they kissed again, she forgot all about her troubles, as well, fully focused on Holtzmann and how good the younger woman was making her feel.


	13. Midnight Snack

It had been almost two months since Holtzmann and Erin had officially declared they were in a relationship, and Erin couldn’t remember a time when she had been happier.

Sometimes, it was difficult to find time she could spend with Holtzmann, especially whenever she had to take over a shift at short notice on the weekend; Holtzmann was always understanding though, and supportive, and didn’t humiliate Erin by offering to share her wealth with her – as Erin had learned shortly after their first night together, Holtzmann had inherited quite the amount when her parents had died, but she was adamant to not use her girlfriend for that, wanting to make it on her own and not wanting to give Holtzmann the idea that she was just with her because of money.

And so, even though it meant she didn’t even have the weekend to be with Holtzmann a few times, Erin kept working, and kept delivering pizza after classes; and she kept delivering to Holtzmann, not on a daily basis anymore, but often enough so they could spend time together after the delivery, often ending up making out in the lab after the pizza had been eaten.

“Dr Gorin never said anything about making out here”, Holtzmann had pointed out when Erin had questioned if this was actually allowed one evening, “she only said we shouldn’t have sex in here. Making out is not sex.”

Erin had agreed that this was correct and logical reasoning, and so, making out now regularly happened after her deliveries to the lab; to her happiness, Holtzmann usually was alone when she arrived there after her shift, and during the few rare times Dr Gorin was there, she left fairly quickly after Erin’s arrival.

She also was there this evening, as Erin arrived with yet another pizza for Holtzmann and Chinese food for herself; she greeted Erin with one of her rare smiles, then excused herself moments after the redhead had arrived, and once again, Erin and Holtzmann were alone at the lab, everyone else having gone home hours ago.

“Tell me about your day”, Holtzmann smiled as she handed over the cash for her food, then opened the pizza box and helped herself to a slice while Erin unpacked her own food, “how did it go?”

“It was good”, Erin let her know, smiling as well, already feeling relaxed and content; perhaps, she thought to herself, an engineering lab wasn’t the most romantic place to spend time at with someone, but she didn’t care where they were, as long as they could be together.

“I did pretty good on the exam, I think”, she added, the proud grin Holtzmann gave her making her blush a bit – and that made her wonder if she’d ever stop blushing whenever Holtzmann was proud of her, or complimented her, or did something nice for her, “I don’t wanna say I aced it but I got a good feeling about it.”

“Well, then I’ll say it”, Holtzmann declared, making Erin smile again, “cause I’m sure you aced it. You’ve aced every exam so far.”

“Well yeah”, Erin had to admit, “but that doesn’t mean I’ll do that all the time. I’m smart, but I’m not a genius like you.”

“Yes you are”, Holtzmann told her at once, making her blush once again, “you’re not just smart, you’re brilliant and you know it.”

“You’re always so sweet to me”, Erin smiled, cheeks still feeling warmer than usual, “and you always make me blush so much with your sweetness, I’m starting it worry it might become a health hazard.”

“Aw”, Holtzmann let out, putting her pizza box aside and grinning at the redhead, “is that so? I’d rather make you blush doing… something else.”

“Holtzmann”, Erin said, shaking her head, “don’t forget what your mentor said. No sex in the lab, remember?”

“Dr Gorin isn’t here though”, Holtzmann pointed out, smiling at Erin as she moved one hand to run it up her back, “and, as I’ve said before, making out is not sex. Wanna make out?”

“With how you’re looking at me right now, I doubt making out is all you want to do”, Erin dryly said, noting that Holtzmann snickered in response, but didn’t deny this; for another moment or two, she considered telling her no, then Holtzmann ran her fingers along her spine and Erin shuddered, all rational thought going out the window from moment to the next.

“Perhaps I wanna do more than that”, Holtzmann admitted, getting up and moving closer so she could start kissing Erin’s throat, knowing that this turned Erin on immensely, and it did this time, too, “I think I want a midnight snack in here.”

Erin raised an eyebrow at this choice of words, then shrugged it off and pulled Holtzmann up and closer for a heated kiss; and a short while later, she was on her back on the table, and Holtzmann got her midnight snack, and things were as good and perfect as they could be.

* * *

In the next morning, Holtzmann arrived at the lab whistling and smiling, a spring in her step and a glint in her eyes; her whistle died on her lips though and her smile faded when Dr Gorin took one look at her, then shook her head, tone strict when she spoke up.

“Jillian, I told you”, she said, thankfully keeping her voice low so no one else would hear, “no sex in the lab.”

“How do you know?!” Holtzmann gasped, eyes going wide – she had been careful to make sure no traces had been left, even had wiped the table after they had gotten done, and she only realized her mistake when Dr Gorin gave her a small, tight smile, a glint in her eyes now as she responded.

“I didn’t”, she told the blonde, making her gape at her, “it was a lucky guess. But you just confirmed it. I’ll let it slide this time, but please don’t do this again in here, this is reckless, Jillian.”

“Alriiiiiight”, Holtzmann agreed, blushing; Dr Gorin just shook her head, then went on to daily business as if nothing had happened, and Holtzmann was more than happy to go along, glad she wasn’t going to get scolded in earnest for what she had done.

Her next midnight snack, she decided, she’d have in her bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it :D I had fun writing this (so much fluff haha) and I hope you had fun reading it :D


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